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By Tony Hallett, 2 September 2003 15:35

NEWS Web services are a very real consideration for most organisations now, though users are also hedging their application and development bets by working with both Java and Microsoft technologies. According to the latest research from Quocirca unit QNB Intelligence, most European users say web services have 'real potential' and are not 'industry hype'. The concept is all about using XML and other standards to link companies' systems and software components over the internet to make a range of business interactions (internal, external, B2B and B2C) easier. Clive Longbottom, Quocirca service director, said: "Users have accepted the concept and it's ready for prime time. They have gone from the 'Are we going to do it?' stage to the 'How we do it' stage - less tyre kicking and more market savvy." In terms of how companies get to the web services promised land - which they do see as being all about outward looking applications, despite a current focus on internal trials and security concerns - there is a generally mixed approach. Forty-one per cent of users are moving forward with a dual platform strategy of both J2EE and .Net, Microsoft's web services framework. Of those that have gone down a single route, 34 per cent have adopted J2EE and 25 per cent .Net. These figures are in line with research from the turn of the year - though at a more advanced stage. Longbottom also said: ".Net is seen as being easier to work with. Theoretically it should be because it's a pure Windows play." However, J2EE works in more heterogeneous environments. Perhaps surprisingly, the vendors most closely associated with web services, according to the QNB poll, in order are Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and HP - meaning no room at the top for Sun, which gave birth to Java and had also been evangelising web services. "They are perceived as just a hardware play," added Longbottom. QNB Intelligence polled 415 senior decision-makers and influencers across Europe in May and June. The research was commissioned by Microsoft.